These Easy Ground Beef Muffins are the BEST recipe to use leftover ground beef! These muffins are nutritious and iron-rich, perfect for Baby Led Weaning! Also, these make an excellent lunchbox addition that even the pickiest eater will love!
I started making these ground beef muffins for Baby Led Weaning when getting ready to start solids with my little girl. I remember not knowing much about preparing BLW foods when weaning my son, so I only offered ground beef “as is” and spoon-fed him. This time, I am developing several recipes using ground beef that can be used in BLW.
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Reasons to Love These Family Favorite Ground Beef Muffins:
- Easy to make: These are a fun twist to egg muffins and meatloaf cupcakes! We always have leftover ground beef at our house, and these muffins make that last cup that no one wants to eat into a fun muffin for lunch or an easy dinner! Win-win!
- Freeze beautifully: Defrost overnight in the fridge or the microwave for a quick juicy flavor lunch.
- Great Baby Led Weaning (BLW) recipe: You can cut these muffins into “fingers” when the baby is between six and nine months and into bite-size pieces once the pincer grasp is developed after nine months.
- Iron-rich: These muffins are made with ground beef and eggs, perfect for babies starting solids when their iron reserves are almost entirely depleted.
- Mess-free lunchbox idea: If you would like to send a nutritious protein-rich lunch to your kids without them complaining about it, I’ve got you covered! Toddlers, kids, and teens will love this recipe!
Ingredients
You only need a few ingredients to make the best baby and kid-friendly ground beef muffins:
- Leftover ground beef (cooked and seasoned): I like using lean ground beef in this recipe! My favorite is ground sirloin, but any will work! If you don’t have any leftovers, you can cook 1 ½ cups of ground beef to add to this recipe (see recipe notes).
- Carrots: finely shredded for added nutrition.
- Eggs: A main ingredient that adds structure to the muffins.
- Oat flour: You can make your own by blending old-fashioned oats in a food processor.
- Onions: Finely chopped.
- Green onions: Finely chopped.
- Paprika: mild or sweet paprika.
- Baking powder: to make the muffins fluffy.
- Salt: Omit for babies <12m old.
Step-by-Step Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C) and use cooking spray to prepare a 12-cup muffin tin.
- In a large mixing bowl combine ground beef (cooked and seasoned), beaten eggs, shredded carrots, oat flour, onions, green onions, paprika, baking powder, and salt (omit for babies <12m old).
- Divide the meat mixture evenly into eight regular-size muffin cups.
- Bake for about 25 minutes.
- Serve warm or let them cool completely to freeze for later!
Recipe Notes:
- This recipe assumes that you have some leftover ground beef available. If not, heat 1 tbsp olive oil over medium heat; add ¼ cup onions (finely chopped), a pinch of garlic powder, and 1 ½ cups lean ground beef. Cook until browned, measure 1 cup, and add to the recipe.
- These make great mini muffins as well! If using a mini muffin tin, reduce the baking time to 15 minutes.
Storage Instructions
- Let the ground beef muffins cool and place them in freezer bags or an air-tight container.
- Store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days and in the freezer for up to 3 months.
- Defrost overnight in the fridge or microwave in increments of 30 seconds until defrosted.
Serving Suggestions and Substitutions
For a complete meal, here are some lunchbox ideas on how to serve these iron-rich muffins:
- Sweet potato fries, steamed or air fryer broccoli, and strawberries.
- Corn on the cob, peas, and grapes.
- Roasted potatoes, baby carrots, and blueberries.
Here are some add-ins that will go well in this recipe. In case you would like more of a cheesy version.
- Mozzarella cheese
- Cheddar cheese
- Parmesan cheese
Frequently Asked Questions
Babies can eat ground beef since starting solids at around six months of age. To cook ground beef, heat some olive oil, add onions, garlic, and paprika until browned to avoid any risk of foodborne illness. You may add some water, or natural tomato sauce (100% tomatoes) to add moisture and facilitate the baby’s first bites.
After thoroughly cooked, ground beef can be served mashed using a pre-loaded spoon, or you can add ground beef to a recipe that will allow it to be offered the “BLW way”. In Baby Led Weaning, the baby will use the palmar grasp to hold a piece of soft food and self-feed. These ground beef muffins are a great BLW recipe, as well as: baby-friendly meatloaf, ground beef and sweet potato meatballs, and ground beef tater tots.
Lean ground beef is best as it is easier to digest. Look for high-quality (fresh and pink-red color) grass-fed beef free from added hormones and antibiotics.
Please rate and comment if you give these a go! I will LOVE to hear how you liked them!
🥣Recipe
Easy Ground Beef Muffins (Best Recipe with Leftovers)
Equipment
- 1 Skillet
Ingredients
- 1 cup ground beef (cooked)
- 3/4 cup carrots grated
- 4 eggs large
- 4 tbsp oat flour
- 1/4 cup onions finely chopped
- 1/4 cup green onions finely chopped
- 1/4 tsp paprika sweet or mild
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt omit for babies <12m
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C) and use cooking spray to prepare a 12-cup muffin tin.
- In a large mixing bowl combine ground beef (cooked and seasoned), beaten eggs, shredded carrots, oat flour, onions, green onions, paprika, baking powder, and salt (omit for babies <12m old).
- Divide the meat mixture evenly into eight regular-size muffin cups.
- Bake for about 25 minutes.
- Serve warm or let them cool completely to freeze for later!
Notes
- This recipe assumes that you have some leftover ground beef available. If not, heat 1 tbsp olive oil over medium heat; add ¼ cup onions (finely chopped), a pinch of garlic powder, and 1 ½ cups lean ground beef. Cook until browned, measure 1 cup, and add to the recipe.
- These make great mini muffins as well! If using a 12-cup mini muffin tin, reduce the baking time to 15 minutes.
- Great Baby Led Weaning (BLW) recipe: You can cut these muffins into “fingers” when the baby is between six and nine months and into bite-size pieces once the pincer grasp is developed after nine months.
Nutrition
Other Ground Beef Easy Recipes You May Like:
Made these and my son loved taking to school for lunch. Will be making again for sure!
Hi Tessa,
I am so glad to hear that your son approved these muffins! Thank you for taking the time to comment and rate this recipe.
These are a hit! My 10 month old loves these thank you!
I am SO happy to hear! 🙂